Snowshoe Race 2

This is David Dressler checking in with a GROM Racing report from Snowshoe Race 2.  Saturday morning we woke up to nice weather but the DH course was still quite muddy from rain earlier in the week.  With all the rock and not much grass we chose to run Specialized Butcher tires.  As the course dried out during the afternoon the Butchers were working really well.  Me railing a berm under the lift

Our team for this weekend was Eric Vest, Jay Fesperman and me.  Jimmy Leslie came down for the weekend to spend some time with the team as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered during the ski season.  Ben Calhoun was home sick this weekend.  We hope to have him back for the next race at Beech Mountain in mid August. 

Saturday afternoon brought an old school grass slalom race in which Eric and I raced.  Some rain came in right before the final round to help make things interesting.  The wet grass was very tricky.  Eric raced Elite/Pro and took first place and I raced Junior and took 1^st place.  

 The DH course was great. I give Trevyn Newpher props for putting together a great course.  On Sunday, I practiced from 9-10 while my Elite/Pro teammates had the course  from 10-11.  The race started around 11.  I was first out of the gate for the team and managed to place third in Weekend Warrior (Cat 2) 17 & Under, even though I crashed a few times and was not happy with my run.  Eric and Jay raced Elite/Pro in DH so they were the last group to come down the mountain.  Eric had a solid run with a 5:10, even with a crash. Jay took second place with a 4:32, just 1.2 seconds off the win.  

Jay scrubbin' over a table in the woods

Everyone had a solid, safe and fun weekend.  We’re all looking forward to getting back together for our next race at Beech mountain in a couple of weeks.  May thanks to our sponsors for helping GROM Racing have another great weekend of racing.  

Click here to see Snowshoe Mountain's highlight video from Race 2 of their series.

Beech Mountain Race 2 and Lees McRae Dual Slalom

Surprisingly good Downhill course provides all GROM Jr. podium, two GROMs in Pro and GROMs stepping up in Dual Slalom.

North Carolina GROM racers ventured back to Beech Mountain for the second downhill and dual slalom races. GROMs Ben Calhoun, Jay Fesperman and Will O'Brien went to Boone on Thursday evening to particpate in a trail work event at Rocky Knob, Watagua County's new park that will include a new cross-country, and possible downhill, trail. Unfortunately, the work event was canceled due to heavy rain. Friday brought a quick trip over to Beech Mountain to check out the downhill trail.

The crew was still working on the new trail and the GROMs were able to assist slightly with trail clean up. However, they did get a a trail walk in and a chance to prepare themselves for the fun riding that would come their way on Saturday morning.

Satuday did bring fun and great riding. The weather was perfect with early morning overcast skys followed by a sunny afternoon. GROMs Luca and Walker Shaw arrive early and ready to ride. Practice was open until after 1:30 and racing started about 3:00. By that time there was a good crowd of spectators gathered to watch the racers finish the course.

Downhill Results:
Juniors
1st - Luca Shaw
2nd - Walker Shaw
3rd - Jay Fesperman

Open/Elite
1st - Christopher Herndon
5th - Ben Calhoun (podium went 5 deep - Ben's 1st Pro Podium)

Dual Slalom

Sunday took the team to Lees McRae for dual slalom racing. While the field of racers was smaller than at the downhill race (GROMs Luca and Walker had headed out for BMX camp in OH), there were still some really good races. 
Juniors
1st - Jay Fesperman
2nd - Will O'Brien

Open/Elite
1st - Christopher Herndon

GROM Racers Podium at Clemson

Where: Clemson Freeride's Downhill Race

When: Saturday, February 27, 2010

What Happened: GROM Racers Luca Shaw, Will O'Brien, and Lauren Daney were all seen on the podium. Luca and Will took second and third places, respectively and Lauren finished second in the Women's class.

What Else: (from Coach Joh)

GROM Racing team had their first race of the season this past weekend Saturday February 27^th at the Clemson free ride course in the University’s experimental Forest.

The team has a lot to be proud of with several podiums and team spirit out on the course. Most everyone on the team made it down to this race, except for Sam Pensler who was preparing for the SATS, which is a good reason to be excused.

It was a great start to the season with a team gathering at Chris and Joh’s house to distribute gear. Also allowing the team members and coaches to get to know everyone a little better, and enjoy Belgian waffles before the race!

We started the day off early on Saturday allowing ourselves to get the pit area set up. Thanks to Specialized, Industry Nine, and Cane Creek we had many tents to have a large pit area. This also gave us enough time everyone to get enough practice runs before the race. Everyone did a good job of helping set up and before we knew it the team was riding together sharing knowledge of the track! Tim Price, one of the coaches, was helping the kids out with line selection and riding techniques. And all of the racers looked great with their matching Specialized jerseys, Smith goggles, and Troy Lee Designs pants and helmets. It had many people talking as the kids were whizzing by. We were also able to share an area with Sycamore Cycles another one of our special sponsors.

But more than everyone looking very professional, the GROMs had positive attitudes about racing and most importantly they were all smiling! The team made a huge impression on fellow racers and race promoter for their first race and will continue to do so as the season progresses.

Click Here to view GROM Racers taking on the Clemson course.

Click Here to check out photos of the event posted by Brandon Barber (thanks Tubby for collecting the evidence).

New GROM Logo - New Racer

GROM Racing is excited to introduce the new team logo. This puts us just one step closer to branding all the "team stuff" on the way.

Also worthy of an introduction is new GROM Racer, Sam Pensler. Sam is only 17 yet he is already riding at a pro level on some courses. The 2009 Gravity East Series saw Sam on the podium at two races. Check out this video of Sam riding some of his local trails near his D.C. area home.